Board Memo – November 17, 2016

Over the past several months our school
community has faced many challenges. Throughout each one, we, as a
community, have remained optimistic and understanding that these
challenges are not insurmountable. Often it is in the fine balance of
understanding and learning from the past, while moving and looking
toward the future, that enables us to find our proper path once the dust
has settled.

We are all aware that RMAE has been and continues to
face a substantial budget deficit. Over the past several weeks, the
Board and specifically the Finance Committee, have dedicated significant
time and consideration in deciding on the best direction to take RMAE
with regards to restoring the school’s financial stability. Great care
was given to discussing and considering numerous options while also
understanding that the path forward required making difficult decisions.
In the end, the revised K-8 budget plan approved by the Board was based
on making necessary and realistic expense reductions, while seeking to
minimize the impact on the students and school as a whole.

We
would like to assure everyone that our children and their ability to
receive a high quality education are our highest priorities. The ability
to realize this requires a financially stable school where school
resources including staffing and other expenses are appropriately
matched to the size and funding of the school. In light of our current
budget situation, we would like you to be aware that several staff
changes have been made, and were communicated first to impacted staff
yesterday afternoon and this morning by our Interim Director, Dr.
Stueven. More specifics regarding these changes will be shared to the
RMAE community in a separate communication from Dr. Stueven tomorrow.

With
these changes now in place, the need to heal and rebuild RMAE for the
future is now as clear as ever. We are asking everyone to come together
as a school community, for the ultimate benefit of our children and the
education they receive. We all have a very important job ahead of us in
rebuilding the school’s reputation and increasing our enrollment this
year and in the future. This requires the dedicated effort of each and
every one of us – please join us in supporting our wonderful school.
There are many ways in which to help: volunteering time in your child’s
classrooms or elsewhere on campus, join and support the PTO, become
involved in or donate to the RMAE Foundation, and/or serve on one of the
many the Board sub-committees which make recommendations to the Board
and help implement key initiatives. As a reminder, you can view and
sign-up for the various sub-committees through this link: RMAE Committee Sign-up List.

We
would like to thank Jeffco Public Schools, the Colorado League or
Charter Schools, and Dr. Stueven for their invaluable advice and input
during this process. In particular, we are thankful for the new
leadership of Dr. Stueven and his knowledge, guidance and commitment to
building a successful charter school. As a community we are fortunate to
have him at RMAE and we continue to appreciate and support all his
efforts during these trying times.

Lastly, we would like to
reiterate our optimism for the future of RMAE. The outpouring of support
from everyone has been tremendous, and it is with your selfless service
and dedication that the school can and will rebuild. We look forward to
working alongside you in this effort. Please do not hesitate to contact
us at any time – you can email the entire board at: rmaeboard@rmae.org.
However, please note that we are taking Nov. 23-27 to reflect and
celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with our families and loved ones and
during this time we will not be responding to any correspondence. We
appreciate your understanding and will resume communications starting
first thing on Monday, November 28th. We hope you have a happy and safe
Thanksgiving.